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The changing faces of ‘maturing’ Catholics By Michelle Martin As Baby Boomers start to turn 55, it’s getting harder and harder to tell a senior citizen just by looking. As groups like the American Association of Retired Persons define “senior citizens” at younger and younger ages, Americans are living longer, and in better health, than ever before. That means many 65-year-olds, once considered the standard retirement age, now have more in common with 55-year-old workers than they do with people of 85 or 90, who have reached the age when more of them begin to suffer from failing health and disabilities. Many older adults work well past their 65th birthdays, at their jobs or as volunteers in schools, churches and community agencies. Some, like Clarence Smithson, do both. “I’m an investor,” said Smithson, 68. “Or you could say I’m retired or self-employed. I have about five different business interests. I sell financial products.” But that doesn’t stop him and his wife Abbie, 69, from spending at least part of almost every day at St. Emeric Church in Country Club Hills. They try to attend daily Mass, and sometimes read at weekday liturgies. They both help with the PADS program, which provides shelter for homeless people one night a week, the serve on the hospitality committee, and they help cook, serve and clean up after funeral luncheons the church provides for bereaved families. “I’d rather wear out than rust out,” Smithson said. He apparently is not alone in that assessment. Older adults can be found on the golf course and in the board room, leading Scout troops and taking trips. Some are still raising their children; others are raising their grandchildren. Those at the younger end of the scale—say, 50 to 70—aren’t much different than the adults some would refer to as being in middle-age, albeit with some aches and pains to go along with their experience. Some 3.7 million people age 65 and older were in the labor force in 1998, or about 12 percent of the population, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. More than half of those who were employed worked part-time, and about a quarter were self-employed, like Smithson. There’s no shortage of things to do for those who are retired, especially at St. Francis Xavier Parish in LaGrange. Father Larry Lisowski moderates a group of newly retired men there, leading a late-morning breakfast meeting once a month. The group does social and spiritual activities, Lisowski said. “We started this group because there were so many guys out there that you would see, and you knew they weren’t working,” he said. “It’s a young retired group. With retirement age coming much lower now for a lot of people, there’s a lot of energy there.” Many of the 35 to 40 men in the group also help out as sacristans for funerals or in other volunteer positions, Lisowski said. For many, parish work becomes more a family project, with their wives involved the bereavement ministry or hospitality programs. Most older adults live with their families, including nearly two-thirds of people 65 and over. But as they get older, they are more and more likely to live alone. And those who are very old—85 or older—and who live alone are more likely to be poor and suffer from failing health. They are also more likely to be female, and widowed. While women outnumber men in every age group over 65, the disparity increases with age. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are 34.4 million people 65 or older in the United States, 1.4 million in Illinois and 677,000 in Cook and Lake counties. The majority are women, and the older they get, the higher the ratio of women to men climbs. And their ranks are growing. In 1998, the most recent year for which figures are available, they made up about 12.7 percent of the population. By 2030, it is projected that there will be more than 70 million people over 65, and they will be 30 percent of the U.S. population. Emma Hogans, 65, fits the profile for younger, more active seniors. She retired from a job at the Catholic Church Extension Society in Chicago in 1998. She is active in her parish, also St. Emeric, and she works part-time filling in for lunch hostesses in schools in the south suburbs. She also sells Avon products, but only to her former co-workers and people who order through the beauty shop she patronizes. “If you start getting too many new customers, you have to do too many deliveries and that cuts into your profits,” she said. Two days a week, she cares for two of her nine grandchildren. “I think I’m a little bit more active than most,” said Hogans, who lives with her husband in their own home. “I walk every morning with a friend who says she just doesn’t have the energy level I have. But some are more active than I am. Some still have full-time jobs.” Hogans credits her active lifestyle and social life with helping keep her healthy. “It’s because I’ve been active for so long,” she said. “Working full time and raising three kids—I didn’t have time for anything else.”
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